16th and 17th Century policing

Question 1

What century were JP’s used?

Answer 1

16th and 17th century (1500 and 1600s)

Question 2

What type of people were usually appointed to be JP’s?

Answer 2

Wealthy landowners

Question 3

What were JP’s able to do before 1554?

Answer 3

Arrest someone only on definite charges

Question 4

What could JP’s do after 1554?

Answer 4

Arrest someone on suspicion of a crime, interrogate them for 3 days and then commit them for trial

Question 5

How many JP’s were there per county?

Answer 5

Usually 20

Question 6

Why did JP’s do the job without pay?

Answer 6

To show their importance, liked the authority

Question 7

What type of offences could be judged in a JP’s home, with examples of the offences?

Answer 7

Low level offences such as drunkenness or fighting

Question 8

Where were more serious offences judged by JP’s?

Answer 8

Petty sessions and Quarter sessions

Question 9

What were Petty sessions?

Answer 9

Where two or three JP’s met to discuss offences

Question 10

What were Quarter sessions?

Answer 10

When all of the JP’s in a county met four times per year

Question 11

What could JP’s do at Petty and Quarter sessions?

Answer 11

Fine, send people to the pillory or stocks and send someone to be whipped

Question 12

What could JP’s do only at Quarter Sessions?

Answer 12

Sentence someone to death

Question 13

How many laws were JP’s responsible for enforcing?

Answer 13

309

Question 14

What made JP’s effective?

Answer 14

They worked at a time where people lived in villages, so the system worked

Question 15

What made a JP’s less effective?

Answer 15

They had a lot of non-policing duties, such as organising local football games, road and bridge repair etc. Many became corrupt and would accept bribes from criminals

Question 16

Why were Constables effective?

Answer 16

They helped JP’s

Question 17

How many men from each village or town were asked to be Constables?

Answer 17

Two

Question 18

How long did a man have to be a Constable?

Answer 18

One year

Question 19

What were the roles of Constables?

Answer 19

Dealt with public complaints, begging and licensing; inflicting punishments such as whipping, ducking and putting people in stocks; catch wrongdoers, and informing the courts via report of public behaviour eg unmended walls and people not going to church

They had to ensure suspects were held in prison until their trial

Question 20

What did some richer Constables do?

Answer 20

Paid others to do their constable duties for them

Question 21

What made constables less effective?

Answer 21

They didn’t want to do the job as they didn’t like informing on their neighbours etc. This made them unpopular. They couldn’t do the job properly as they also had to do their income bringing job, meaning constable duties were less important to them

Question 22

Why were watchmen called ‘Charlie’s?’

Answer 22

They were appointed by King Charles

Question 23

Why were watchmen important?

Answer 23

They were the first paid position and first night time police

Question 24

When did London start to employ Charlies?

Answer 24

1663

Question 25

What was the role of a watchman?

Answer 25

Walked the streets carrying a bell, lantern, rattle and a staff. They called out the time and watched for suspicious behaviour.

Question 26

What was a popular sport in London?

Answer 26

Baiting Charlies

Question 27

Why were watchmen usually old men?

Answer 27

The only people who wanted to do the job due to the low wage

Question 28

Why were Charlies ineffective?

Answer 28

They often fell asleep or were drunk. Many sat in the same place instead of walking the streets. Some were too feeble to stop criminals

Question 29

What does ‘JP’ stand for?

Answer 29

Justice of the Peace